To The Reader

SIGNS WITH SWORDS “Tell her [Israel], ‘This is what the Lord says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people—the righteous and the wicked alike.”‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭21‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (circa 593 BC) “Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the…

Have you ever watched a tv or movie scene where there are two people who aren’t on speaking terms and they involve a third person to communicate on their behalf? 👱🏼‍♀️ “Mary-Sue, please tell my sister that I will NOT bail her out.” 👩🏽‍🦱 (Mary-Sue) 👩🏼 “Is that so? Well, Mary-Sue, you can remind my…

This chapter is a funeral song. A Lament. Specifically, it’s a lament “for the princes of Israel,” King Jehoahaz and King Jehoiakim, the sons of King Josiah. It’s fitting that the two Davidic princes are depicted as lions. The lion was the symbol of the tribe of Judah, David’s tribe. The first lion cub which…

In the last message, Yahweh compared the people of Jerusalem to a useless vine. Now He describes the nation as a woman. He tells the whole tale in an allegorical form, describing the nation as an abandoned newborn lying on the ground and covered in blood. He rescued the unwanted baby and provided for her.…

In this short chapter, Yahweh calls the people of Jerusalem a useless vine. The only real use a grapevine has to produce grapes. If the people of Jerusalem are a “useless vine” then it means they aren’t producing fruit. If a vine doesn’t make grapes then you can’t do much else with it except make…

False Prophets & Internal Idols In chapter 13, Yahweh denounces two groups of prophets: men and women. They are both telling people what they want to hear but in different ways. The false prophecies of the men are compared to a layer of whitewash on flimsy wall. Many a structural problem has been hidden by…

Two Signs & A Proverb We must remember that as Ezekiel is receiving these prophecies, Jerusalem hasn’t fallen yet. Jeremiah is still there- probably being threatened or beaten or imprisoned at this point. Zedekiah is king- the one who cut up and burned the scroll with Jeremiah’s prophecies. Two groups of exiles have been removed…

Today we’re going to look at the first half of a lengthy vision. And it’s a doozy. 😐🤚🏼 I got a question… Yeah? 😐 Ezekiel said he was sitting in his house and he had house guests. Yeah… 🤔 And then this divine figure grabs him by the hair and hauls him hundreds of miles…

THE SIEGE MODEL “Now you, son of man, get yourself a brick, place it before you, and inscribe a city on it—Jerusalem. Then lay siege against it, build a siege wall, pile up an assault ramp, set up camps, and place battering rams against it all around. Then get yourself an iron plate and set…